Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I think this comic is best introduced in the words of its hero, Scott Pilgrim. So here's The Story of Scott Pilgrim (As Told by Scott Pilgrim): My name is Scott Pilgrim! I'm 23 and I live in Toronto with my cool gay roommate, Wallace Wells. I'm in a band called Sex Bob-omb (we're not very good though), and I'm "between jobs". Some of my friends say I'm a freeloader, but I think Wallace is just really nice! Anyway, I've been having some girl troubles lately. I kind of ended up dating this girl with, uh, seven evil ex-boyfriends, apparently? Her name is Ramona Flowers and she's from New York, which makes her super extra-cool. Anyway, her ex-boyfriends keep showing up to fight me! It's really extreme and stuff!! Girls show up from my past to make things more complicated, and it's not like having a relationship is easy to begin with! I've got baggage and stuff, okay?!

I think what I like best is that although this is a relationship comic, it's one with a self-depricating sense of humor -- a crucial factor for my personal enjoyment! The side characters are great -- Wallace and Scott's sister Stacey are my favorites so far. Plus, the whole "seven evil ex-boyfriends" element keeps it zingy. Scott is aimless but charming at the beginning, but by the time we get to the first evil ex-boyfriend (Matthew Patel -- Ramona's 7th grade boyfriend) he really seems to be gaining a sense of purpose. I look forward to seeing what comes next. I enjoyed it a lot and am glad to see that there are 3 volumes out now.

Fables Vol 6: Homelands

by Bill Willingham
More big fun from the Fables franchise. The first half of this book is about Jack (you know, Jack Horner, Jack of the Tales, Jack be nimble, Jack and the beanstalk) -- the blond troublemaker/ con artist who always takes the shortcut and always gets his ass handed to him as a result. Jack decides to leave Fabletown (because they don't appreciate him there) and move to Hollywood to seek the fame and respect he thinks he deserves. He becomes a big mover and shaker (thanks to a huge pile of stolen Fabletown money) and starts his own studio. Things, as you might imagine, don't go well for long.

The second half of this collection deals with the ongoing story of The Adversary. Blue (Little Boy Blue, who's not so little, here) comes into his own going deep into enemy territory. He has what they call the Jabberwock's Bane (the vorpal sword!) so the words "snicker-snack" appear a satisfying number of times as he fights his way to The Adversary... whose identity is revealed! (But I won't say who it is.) Anyway, there's no Snow or Bigby or Rose Red in this one, but we get to spend time with some of the previously minor characters and some new (to the series) characters -- Mowgli, Bagheera, the Snow Queen. To sum up: fairy tales, vorpal sword, a lot of fun.